"...she could have told him to sod off when he asked her name, but she didn't. Well, perhaps she wouldn't have used those actual words. Young women named Prudence, who dressed in expensive suits and spoke with a country lilt instead of a cockney twang, didn't as a rule tell people to sod off so... Jack's smile widened. Who says an oil-covered engineer with a daughter, an ex-wife and a less-than-spotless past couldn't win a fair lady?"
A Stepney Girl's Secret by Jean Fullerton is a moving and evocative saga, set in East London during WWII. It follows lives of several women who have moved to live in a rectory in Stepney, their aspirations, hopes and heartbreak.
Blurb:
East London, 1940.
At the outbreak of war, hopeless romantic Prue Carmichael and her sister must leave their rural parish behind when their father is posted to a church in Stepney. To Prue, the blitz-ravaged streets of London seem an unlikely place for love to bloom - until a chance encounter throws rakish engineer Jack Quinn into her path. But as their connection deepens, his troubled past begins to emerge, and Prue realises Jack has secrets to hide...
Luckily, in between starting work at a railway yard and helping her mother house Jewish refugees in the parish, Prue manages to keep her mind off love and on the wartime effort. However, Jack isn't the only man who's fallen for Prue - and when he is recruited into Churchill's secret underground army, an unexpected suitor offers a fresh distraction.
As air raid sirens sound and the Battle of Britain rages overhead, Prue Carmichael must face some of the greatest horrors of her young life. Meanwhile, she is waging her own battle - the fight between her heart and her head.
Amidst the ruins of war, will Prue and Jack's love find a way to flourish?
Prue's family arrive to London from a quiet country parish. Prue wants to help with the war effort and finds a job at the Shunting Yard, working on the trains. Her snobbish mother is not happy for her daughter to work among "the sort of people" she deems lower in status. Her father Hugh, a placid man, seems to be under his wife's heel.
Prue is a determined young woman, who knows her mind. She ignores her mother's complaints, insisting that it is a crucial work, and she will be doing her bit, like thousands of other women
She first encounters Jack accidentally in the street, and is immediately drawn to his cheeky grin and likeable personality. Jack is an engineer at the railway station, who is desperate to be enlisted. However, the railway workers are a reserved occupation, and his boss says he cannot let him go.
The mutual attraction is almost instantaneous. An unlikely romance blossoms. Jack's past catches up with him, and Prue discovers he has secrets to hide.
Jack is not the only suitor to vie for her attention. Handsome but rather shallow Father David believes he finds a perfect future wife in Prue.
Will Prue follow her heart?
Prue is an admirable strong protagonist. She could have easily followed her mother's footsteps and found herself a respectable husband who would provide for her and offer her a stable home to run. Instead she actively seeks employment, and doesn't mind getting her hands dirty. At first her social standing provides grounds for mockery among the working class girls. Soon, however, she proves her mettle. You cannot but admire her determination and stamina.
Prue's character represents the great changes in the society, when women applied for work, helping with the war effort, while the men went fighting. Not everyone was happy about it. Many men who stayed behind, were resenting women working among them.
Fullerton creates an authentic, believable background. The class division, and the inverted snobbery, rings true.
There is a plethora of colourful supporting characters. Alongside the main plotline, there are moving stories of the refugees who are invited to live at the rectory with the Carmichaels.
A Stepney Girl's Secret will appeal to the fans of historical fiction, set during WWII. It is an engaging story, that transports you back in time. It's a memorable page-turner of love and hope, grief and resilience.
There is a romance, suspence and drama aplenty.
This is not the first book by Jean Fullerton that I've read. I have enjoyed The Ration Book series, set in London during the WWII, in the past. The new series promises to be as absorbing and riveting.
This book review is part of the blog tour for A Stepney Girl's Secret.
Many thanks to Jean Fullerton, Corvus and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!
Purchase Links
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BLRB2481/
US - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BLRB2481/
Author Bio – Born and bred in East London Jean was a District Nurse by trade and ended her thirty-year career in health care as a senior lecture in Health and Nursing Studies in London Southbank University.
She had
published twenty sagas all set in East London with both Orion and Atlantic the
most recent of which is the highly successful Ration Book series. She has also
recently released her autobiography A Child of the East End.
Social
Media Links –
Website: http://jeanfullerton.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jean-Fullerton-202631736433230/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanFullerton_
Giveaway to Win 5 x Copies of
A Stepney Girl’s Secret (Open to UK & Ireland Only)
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